Religions of the Azaranian Empire
The Religions vary by race, as the Azaranian empire is not solely constituted of the Azaranians. However, some truth is to be found in how the Azaranians are referred to by the others in the Empire, the Tarhzh'Hator, ''Time Worshipers. The main religions the Azarath follow are Azarathaka, Ladaditism and Nasaria. All three have similar tenets, and all derive from the worship of the one creator god, who is the God of Time. The three religions are devoted to time worship. The Priests, called ''Azkareth in the old tongue, are headed by the Azkare'thangari, A religious council much like the Synod during Russian Imperial times, in Azarathaka and Ladaditism, and by the Thangrazkar is Nasaria. All worship time, all worship the Guardians. However, they differ in their nature. As a Rule, Azaranians value punctuality, as time is their Deity. Their society is based around the Deification of Time, and all connotations that go with it. In their Infancy, the Azaranians obsessed with timekeeping, and calendar making, even passing on a template for one of their more complex calendars to the Maya of earth ... If an Azaranian gives you a time guarantee, you can bet with your life it will be met, even, sometimes, surpassed. To not do so is a great dishonor. The truth of the God of time was said to be revealed by the Guardians to the Azkara. A common saying amongst Azaranians to justify their beliefs, is All Life Ends with Death, even the Universe and its encoding. But time goes on, and Transcends the universe. ''This is an abbreviation of a passage from the a sacred text common to all ''Akarethani'Karabe ''Religions of Time. Commonalities The most famous line of Azaranian Sacred text is common to all Azaranians: 1All life ends with Death,2Even the Universe, with all its stars and shining constellations, and the Shining continents beyond will end.3 But Time goes on.4 After one dies, he is committed to the ground, or to the Ash,5 and as he ends, his memory fades with time,6 and time rewards those who are left in the memories of men, 7but men lie, and cheat and scam, 8but eventually they end as well. 9But Time goes on. 10Time lasts longer than any universe*, than any encoding, 11it finds a way to survive, when all matter, when the planets of the universe are ash and energhayan, 12Time will remain, 13and when all ends, it will renew itself as a phoenix,14 and changed it will rise in another encoding, 15perhaps with less loops and bridges, but it will last,16 it will transcend us all.17 All life Ends with Death,18 but Time Transcends the universe, and Death bends to its will. -Book of Tarzhan'Tari Korfolius Chapter 1 Verses 1-18 Azarathaka The Mother of the Universe is not simply one of your heathen godesses. She is all, and she is none, she is everything, and yet nothing, She is grand, and she is small, constant, and variable, merciful and fueled by vengeance, she is ugly and beautiful, static and dynamic, chaotic and orderly. She will give as likely as take, and kill as much as save. But the ''Arkia Tarzha ''(Mother Tarzha(time)) cares for all, and damns them all the same. Only she knows the plan, the infinite things to come and futures that will follow. She saves some but only to kill others, doomed to their fates by their own devices, as one cannot exist without the other. Life cannot exist without death, and evil cannot exist without good, for each other they define. Do not presume to understand the one true Deity that is time. Arkia Tarzha intervenes, but does not, all at once, as she does not want the fruits of her creation to die, but also not take away the will of the universe, the chaotic and yet determined fate. Tarzha is not evil, nor is she good, She simply stands and watches from afar, and knows what is to come. The Guardians do her bidding, as they were created to watch so that the encoding does not end before its time. And yet they are told to leave the mortal races to their devices, to leave them to their deeds and misdeeds. She sows sorrow, and madness, but also strength and courage. Misery is a part of life, but without it, without struggle, without conflict, what world is that, the perfect world that does not yet, nor will it exist, a world that is bland, and equal, that is unchanging, but that some find pleasing. Life as well as Tarzha is two sided. There is always an antithesis, how else can we live our lives, how else are they worth living, how else does our existence matter. Praise time for what it is, the great Duality. '''Tralazekranth Time'onia Sidon'Zhira', an Azarthaka missionary Speaking to the Haltari people in Memoirs of the Missions Azarathaka is the only Sect that recognizes The central Time God as female, as Ladaditism asserts it as male (causing a fair bit of conflict between the sects) whereas Nassaria does not assign a gender to the deity, and assert that the god of time is a duality of everything, and, by extension, the sexes''.'' Ladaditism Nassaria Nassaria is the strain of Time Worship originating in the Continent of Nassah, On the East coast of the Small Sea. In opposition to the more rigid belief systems of the Continent of Azha, Nassaria is much more fluid in terms of beliefs, due to the mixing of various regional types of time worhsip. IT is also the only one of the three sects that does not have names for the seven guardians, and maintains that they do not have real names, but are only aspects of their domain, and aspects of time as well. The Nassarian Religion is headed by the Thangrazkar, ''A group of representatives form each regional variant headed by the ''Thezkareth, ''the aspect of the will of the true nature of the Guardians. Tarhzhan'Tari The Azaranians have the inborn ability to control Energy in its purest form. However, not everyone is as good, or as powerful. Azaranians with sufficient skill in controlling Energhayan, the Name they gave to "pure Energy", are called the Azhuranthia. Only Azhurantia, may sit in the Azhurantia council, only a member of the council, may become Emperor of the Azarath. Yet he is not the most revered Azhuranthia. The most revered, in religious culture, are the ''Tarhzhan'Tari, ''The Timewalkers. The Most Powerful Azhuranthia, can control time around them. They can slow its progress, speed themselves up, and control time dilation fields around people, and objects. But just being able to manipulate dilation, does not make you a ''Tarhzhan'Tari. 'Tarhzhan'Tari, ''can travel into the past. Usually, space and matter is bound to time bound together like cloth, ever moving forward. However, using precise and incomprehensible mastery of Fine energhayan manipulation, a timewalker can separate himself, from the rest of the universe, and walk freely through the fourth Dimension, hence, the Name. However, a Timewalker must cut himself out, and push himself back in through the cracks, without damaging himself, or anything around him. This requires talent, and it leaves a mark, free chronons always appear at a ''Tarzh'Akhat, a Timehole, where the Timewalker leaves, and the Arzhi'Nauwa, the Fill of Time, where he enters. These can be detected easily by and Timewalker who tunes himself, or by machines built to detect traces. Timewalkers of the Order (Odrani'Tarzhantari) see time for what it is, a long line, a fibre of the universe that may separate at one point, and then join with another, where it is not necessary for all of the universe to jab at each other, as it is believed that time has a consciousness, and it separates when it feels threatened, and it splits only what is necessary. However, time travel, is the Greatest Heresy anyone can possibly do, in all three major time worshiping religions, as they worship time and its ways, they see it as heresy to rip apart the fabric and nature of God himself. However, most of them are held in regard, as they have seen the face of time, and looked it through a tear of their making, only stepping in, but not entirely out of time. It is seen as heresy to separate yourself from time, as it is seen as separating yourself from the God of time. Most timewalkers are manifested at an early age, when they start seeing Tarzhiki, time splits, best described as times when large, grievous choices are made, splitting time, allowing one timeline, or more, to be created, where other decisions are made, and manipulated, or when Arzhi'Nauwa happen. These are seen as "glitches", solid objects seem to briefly extend. When from orbit, entire planets. may appear to briefly duplicate before returning to normal. When one is discovered, he is usually sent to an Anorphatan Tarzhan'tari, ''to be inducted into the Order of the Timewalkers, a monastic sect of all the Time worshiping religions, and become a ''Odrani'Tarzhantari. ''Anorphatan Tarzhan'tari, ''home of timewalkers. Category:Azaranian Empire